The Seeds of Doubt (Please Keep Reading!)

The air grew still.

Danzo said nothing, his one visible eye narrowing.

He and Hiruzen Sarutobi had already agreed to pin the blame for this on Iwagakure.

Even Hiruzen didn't know Root was responsible. He, too, believed Iwagakure had done it.

There was only one possible reason Qingguang had suddenly brought this up.

Orochimaru had sold him out!

Right now, the most important thing was to calm Qingguang down. He absolutely couldn't afford to let him down.

Qingguang was his hope for mastering Wood Release and the Sharingan in the future.

Turning around, Danzo looked at Qingguang. After a long silence, he finally let out a sigh, shook his head slightly, and walked deeper down the corridor.

"Come with me. Since you're so determined, I'll do as you wish."

They arrived at the morgue.

Cold air filled the room, and row upon row of drawers lined the walls.

Danzo stepped forward and pulled open three drawers near the left side.

Three pale faces, coated in frost, came into view.

Two of them had sunken eye sockets. Their Sharingan were nowhere to be seen.

"Qingguang, it's not that I'm unwilling to return them to the Uchiha."

"It's that two of their Sharingan were destroyed in the battle with Iwagakure. If the Uchiha Clan learned about this—"

"They would inevitably hate Iwagakure with all their hearts. Some of the Uchiha's Hawk Faction might even defy the village's orders and go to Iwagakure for revenge."

"That would shatter the peace we have left. Everything I've done has been to delay the next war as long as possible and buy you more time to master Wood Release."

Fortunately, he had kept something in reserve back then. He had given Orochimaru only two pairs of Sharingan, and both pairs had been destroyed when the experiments failed.

The one remaining pair had originally been kept for experiments by Root's shinobi.

He hadn't expected it to come in handy now.

Qingguang lowered his head in silence, a trace of apology appearing on his face. "I'm sorry, Lord Danzo. I shouldn't have distrusted you."

"It's just..."

"Never mind. I understand your predicament. I only hope you can try to understand how difficult things have been for me."

"Take them back and give them a proper burial."

Not long after Qingguang left, Danzo immediately set out to settle the score with that cunning snake.

In a hidden laboratory on the outskirts of Konoha.

Danzo's sudden visit took Orochimaru by surprise.

"Lord Danzo, it's so late. What brings you here?"

A dangerous glint appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.

Damn Danzo. How had he found this place?

"Orochimaru, do you want to know how I found this place?"

"If there's something I want to know anywhere in Konoha, then I'll find out."

"Root's intelligence network is far more powerful than you imagine."

"I can allow you to do some of the things you want, but Qingguang is off-limits."

Qingguang could only belong to him. The powers of Wood Release and the Sharingan had to be under his control alone!

Orochimaru chuckled twice. "Lord Danzo, you're mistaken."

"Qingguang belongs to Lord Hokage. I think you know that."

"Rather than wear each other down, why don't we form a temporary alliance?"

Qingguang was a prize that he, Danzo, and Hiruzen Sarutobi all wanted for themselves.

He had told Qingguang about what happened only to plant the seeds of doubt in his mind.

Once a person's trust had been shattered, it was difficult to rebuild. It was only three Uchiha, after all. He believed Danzo could handle the matter.

After all, he still hadn't played the trump card that would make Qingguang turn to his side completely.

Danzo fell into thought.

Orochimaru was right. The only one who could truly claim Qingguang was the "Hokage"!

No matter how much Qingguang trusted him, only the person who could sit in the sunlight could completely control Qingguang's every move.

"Are you trying to make an enemy of me?"

"No, Lord Danzo. I think you've misunderstood me."

"I simply don't want Teacher Sarutobi to keep holding Qingguang back."

"Whether you or I ultimately succeed, it won't interfere with your plans. After all, we're both in the same boat."

Both men had information that could ruin the other.

But the balance of information between them wasn't equal.

Danzo still thought he had Orochimaru completely under his thumb, leaving him no choice but to agree to an alliance.

"You'd better behave yourself from now on. Don't let me catch you making any more moves behind my back."

"Root's eyes are everywhere."

At Konoha Hospital.

Qingguang carried the two children inside.

"Big Sis, I'll leave these two kids in your care."

Tsunade set down the late-night snack she'd only half-finished, wiped her mouth, and casually pushed a large stack of manuscripts aside. She looked over the children's injuries, her expression turning grave.

"Who did this? How could anyone be so rough with children?"

On the way there, Qingguang had used Genjutsu to put the two little ones to sleep temporarily.

"Big Sis, they complained that they were hurting on the way here, so I used Genjutsu to let them sleep for a while." Qingguang thought Tsunade was scolding him and spoke with some embarrassment.

Tsunade paused, then burst out laughing, her whole body shaking with mirth.

"That's not what I meant. I was talking about their injuries."

Children roughhousing shouldn't have left them with bruises like these.

A pale green Chakra glow appeared over Tsunade's hands as she healed the bruises on the children's limbs.

Before long, the two woke up. After thanking Qingguang and Tsunade, they left.

Only after the children had gone did Qingguang give a helpless smile. "Those two kids were injured by Kushina at the Ninja Academy."

"I happened to be at the Dumpling Shop next to the Ninja Academy. I heard a commotion in the woods behind it, so I went to take a look."

"Kushina was fine. She only had a little dirt on her, while the two little ones were on the ground bawling their eyes out."

Tsunade was taken aback. She felt a little embarrassed.

"That girl Kushina. I told her to go easy on them at school and just teach them a lesson. How does she still get so worked up and start throwing punches?"

"I'll have to ask Grandma Mito to remind her again."

"Maybe I've been busy with my own things lately and haven't been looking after her enough," Tsunade said, feeling a little guilty as she reflected on it.

Grandma Mito was advanced in years and nearing the end of her life. She didn't even have enough Chakra to maintain the Yin Seal, and she was growing frailer by the day.

"Big Sis, what have you been busy with lately? Is there anything I can help with?" Qingguang asked curiously.

Tsunade sighed and tossed the manuscripts she'd just set aside in front of Qingguang.

"You might as well take a look. Here, have a look and tell me what you think of my method. You're clever."